Mike Harrington: It's an iconic series win for the Sabres, but it's just the first step on the road

It's just the first step on playoff road for the Sabres

As disappointing as not ending this series in Buffalo was, there was glee for the Sabres in making this the first time in franchise history they wrapped one up in Boston, Mike Harrington writes.

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The droughtbusters were at it again Friday night.

More history. More magic. More memories. And to think, we're only one round into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Buffalo Sabres wrapped up an actual postseason series victory Friday night with their 4-1 win over the Boston Bruins in TD Garden. They won their first-round series, four games to two, and advanced for the first time since 2007.

That's a long time ago. So they've made the playoffs for the first time in 15 years and won in them for the first time in 19 years. May as well just keep going now.


The Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins shake hands after the Sabres' 4-1 victory in Game 6 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series on Friday at TD Garden in Boston.
The Sabres clinched the best-of-seven series, 4-2. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News

What a bizarre six-game set. Five wins by the road team, including a three-game sweep by the Sabres in the Garden that saw Buffalo pound the Bruins by a goal count of 13-3. The only time the home side survived in the series was Buffalo's Houdini act in the final 10 minutes of Game 1.

The Sabres have had some nightmares in this town. As disappointing as it was for them not to end this series in Buffalo, there was glee in making this the first time in franchise history they wrapped one up in Boston.

"I've had disappointing games in Boston going way back when, losing to the Bruins in a series," said coach Lindy Ruff, who first met the Bruins in the playoffs in 1982. "To come in here and win it in this building, it's not an easy town to come in and play and win hockey games. You've got to give our guys a lot of credit."

Sure do. The brilliance of Rasmus Dahlin and Alex Tuch to combine on the game's first goal to put Buffalo in front for good. The work of Tage Thompson. The guts of Josh Doan to set up Zach Benson for the third-period backbreaker. And the impeccable goaltending of Alex Lyon.

"It's gratifying. I feel much more gratification for the guys in the room who have been here a long time," Lyon said. "For the fans. For the city of Buffalo. I've really enjoyed my time here and appreciate the way the city and the guys treat me. It feels good to be able to give back to them."

Added Thompson, who's now in his eighth season in Buffalo: "It means a lot. When you get a taste of winning, you get hungrier and hungrier. This is another stepping stone, another great achievement, but there's still more ahead."


Sabres right winger Alex Tuch celebrates his first-period goal against the Boston Bruins on Friday at TD Garden. Tuch had seven points in the six-game series.
Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News

Specifically, the Sabres get a break in the schedule for a few days, thanks to Tampa Bay's 1-0 overtime win in Montreal's Bell Centre on Friday night. Those two teams now have to return to Florida for Game 7 on Sunday. The next round won't open in KeyBank Center until Tuesday at the earliest, and could conceivably not face off until Wednesday. Stay tuned on that front.

As for the Bruins, they again couldn't handle the speed of the Buffalo forwards or the wizardry at the top from Dahlin and Bowen Byram. And although Boston had just six shots on goal in the first period, three of them were massive opportunities that forced Lyon into making 10-bell saves.

In the wake of David Pastrnak's overtime goal that brought the series back, the Garden crowd was way more jazzed for this game than it was for Games 3 and 4. Tim Thomas, the goaltender of the 2011 Stanley Cup champions, did the honor of serving as the Bruins' "Fan Banner Captain" and waving the flag from the stands just before the anthems. The place went bonkers, probably the loudest single moment we heard in the three games here.

(Aside here: It wasn't close to the noise we heard when Josh Allen was introduced to bang the Sabres' drum before Game 2. Probably didn't match the roar for the Blade Gang before Game 5, either.)

The Sabres specialized in early magic in the last three games. Peyton Krebs scored at 4:17 of Game 4; Dahlin at 3:35 of Game 5; and Dahlin then set up Tuch for the opening goal at 3:25 of Game 6. It was great work on the play by Dahlin to get the puck down low and then pass it to Tuch to his right.

"I can't believe how well he plays with his head up, even with a bobbling puck," Tuch said of Dahlin. "Gets control of it, head up and I just try to find the open area because he's going to find you. One of the best in the game to do it. I would lose the puck if I played a lot like him."

"I looked up, and there was 'Tuchie' in the right spot at the right time," Dahlin said. "It was just easy to give it to him."

Lyon made key stops throughout his stint in the series and made two of them later in the first on old friend Casey Mittelstadt, who scampered in alone and was stopped on both his initial shot and his short rebound.

Just over two minutes later, Mattias Samuelsson made it 2-0 with a screened shot, where Thompson completely impeded Swayman's line of sight and left the goalie no chance to make a save.

They gave up a Pastrnak goal in the second period on a 2-on-1, but never felt like they were in trouble in the third, particularly after the Benson goal.
You could sense the relief in their eyes and their voices after this one. But you also sense their resolve.

"It's one step in the right direction," Tuch said. "We're one round in the playoffs, and in our eyes, we haven't done anything yet."

 

[HipKat]

The Athletic: Sabres vs. Bruins Game 6: Key takeaways as Buffalo advances to Round 2​

Sabres vs. Bruins Game 6: Key takeaways as Buffalo advances to Round 2

Two first-period goals and a backbreaker from Zach Benson in the third help the Sabres win a series for the first time since 2007.

www.nytimes.com

The Sabres have won a playoff series for the first time since 2007. Bruce Bennett / Getty Images

The Buffalo Sabres move on.

The Sabres won a playoff series for the first time since 2007 by dispatching the Boston Bruins in six games. The Sabres claimed a 4-1 Game 6 win on Friday at TD Garden by pumping two first-period pucks past Jeremy Swayman and adding a Zach Benson backbreaker in the third period. Josh Norris iced the game with an empty net goal.

The Sabres will play either the Montreal Canadiens or Tampa Bay Lightning in Round 2. Game 7 between the Canadiens and Lightning is on Sunday.

“I think Part A is getting to the playoffs,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “Part B is trying to have success once you get there. We talked about how hard this series was going to be and what a challenge it was going to be to take out a good team. Boston’s a good team. And then to do it on the road with a team that had played so well at home, one of the better home records in the league, I thought our guys dug in and gave us a heck of a game tonight.”

The Sabres, up 2-1 after 40 minutes, scored the decisive goal after Josh Doan outhustled David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy for a puck deep in the Bruins’ end. After Doan won the puck, he found an unmarked Benson in front.

“It just can’t happen,” said Bruins coach Marco Sturm. “You have an O-zone faceoff, and it ended up in your net. Just like that. It’s very unfortunate, because I felt like we had a little push.”

Just like in Game 4, the Bruins folded in the first period in Game 6. This time, it was a case of the Sabres making plays instead of the Bruins giving up the puck. On the first goal, Jonathan Aspirot had Tage Thompson marked. Same for McAvoy on Alex Tuch.

But Rasmus Dahlin has the talent to be a difference-making offensive catalyst. By stepping up into the offensive zone and receiving Thompson’s pass, Dahlin separated from Pavel Zacha. Dahlin then blew through Aspirot’s stick check to create a two-on-one down low. McAvoy, who was covering Tuch, had no choice but to engage Dahlin. This left Tuch open at the far post.

On Buffalo’s second goal, Thompson (6 feet 6) and Tuch (6 feet 4) set a double screen on Swayman. The goalie had no shot at picking up Mattias Samuelsson’s release from the point.

Meanwhile, Alex Lyon made a game-changing save on Casey Mittelstadt’s partial breakaway when the Sabres held a 1-0 lead halfway through the first.

After ending a 14-year playoff drought, the Sabres have now validated themselves as more than just a playoff team. The theme in Buffalo’s dressing room after the game was that this is just the start of what they want to accomplish.

“When you get a taste of winning, you just get hungrier and hungrier,” Thompson said. “This is another stepping stone, another great achievement. But there’s still more ahead. Our MO all year has been to stay even keel. We’re going to enjoy what we accomplished tonight, but there’s still more to be done. That’s exciting.”

For the Bruins, the loss ends a season where they made a 24-point turnaround after finishing with the fifth-worst record in 2024-25.

“The first expectation coming into the season is to make the playoffs. We did it,” said Pastrnak. “Unfortunately, just run into Buffalo.”

Josh Doan’s big moment​

Doan made the play of the game in the third period, outskating two Bruins to a loose puck in the offensive zone. He won the battle for the puck and then made a perfect pass to Benson while taking a high hit from McAvoy. The pass made it through, and Benson finished the play with a goal to put the Sabres up 3-1 in the third period. Doan has been a dream acquisition for the Sabres because of the energy he consistently brings. Midway through the third period in Game 6, Doan was leading the Sabres with seven shot attempts and three individual high-danger chances. He also had two hits and two takeaways at that point. He does a bit of everything for the Sabres and made the biggest play of their season Friday night.

Alex Lyon locked in again​

Lyon stopped Mittelstadt on a clean break midway through the first period to keep the score 1-0. And then after the Sabres went up 2-0, Lyon made another point-blank stop on Elias Lindholm in front of the net. That allowed the Sabres to keep the 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission. The Bruins eventually got on the board, but Lyon came up big early in the third period, too. The Bruins outshot the Sabres 10-2 in the first half of the third period, but the Sabres ended up getting the period’s first goal because Lyon was locked in. The series changed when Lyon took over Buffalo’s crease in Game 3. And he saved some of his best saves for Game 6.

Alex Tuch a difference maker for Buffalo​

Tuch was a difference maker for the Sabres. He scored the first goal and was also Buffalo’s most impactful two-way forward. Through two periods, Tuch had already logged 14:57 of ice time, and the Sabres were outscoring the Bruins 2-0 during his five-on-five minutes. He came into the game leading the Sabres with 6 points. He added to that total with his goal. The pending unrestricted free agent has already shown up in a big way for the Sabres this postseason. As he said ahead of Game 6, Tuch has been craving a chance to play in these types of games. And he measured up.

“I love it,” Tuch said. “This is what I think of when I think of hockey. There’s nothing better, honestly. I think the whole world knows it, too. Everyone is giving everything they have, sacrificing their bodies, minds, everything. You’re just going out there and givin’ ’er.”

Nikita Zadorov played with torn MCL​

Nikita Zadorov tore the MCL in his right knee in Game 3. The Bruins defenseman missed approximately five minutes of Game 3 before returning. He had been wearing a sleeve on his right leg.

“Fully torn off the bone,” Zadorov said.

When healthy, Zadorov is one of the NHL’s fastest defensemen. On Nov. 21, 2025, Zadorov hit a maximum speed of 23.84 mph. Only Jake Sanderson (24.37 mph) hit a higher speed this season.

Zadorov played 21:52 in Game 6.

Michael Kesselring replaces Logan Stanley in Sabres’ lineup​

Logan Stanley came down with an illness this week. He took part in warmups but couldn’t play. Michael Kesselring, who hadn’t played in the playoffs and had played only two games since March 10, took his spot in the lineup. Kesselring grew up in Nashua, N.H., and played college hockey at Northeastern, so making his playoff debut in Boston was a big moment for him. But he didn’t end up getting a ton of ice time. Stanley’s absence forced the Sabres to lean on their top four defensemen for a heavy dose of minutes. By the end of the second period, Dahlin, Samuelsson, Bowen Byram, and Owen Power were all on pace for more than 21 minutes of ice time. Conor Timmins and Kesselring rotated in with those guys to keep them fresh, but the Sabres relied on their best players to eat a ton of minutes, and that worked to their advantage.

Viktor Arvidsson’s future unknown​

Viktor Arvidsson may have played his final game as a Bruin. The No. 2 right wing is in the final year of his contract.

Arvidsson, injured in Game 4, skated on his own before Game 6. Whether he could have played in Game 7 is unknown.

Arvidsson, 33, was a very good fit, especially at five-on-five. He should be well regarded in unrestricted free agency, given the shallow depth of available forwards.